Diary of St. Faustina....A Real Test in Obedience

Diary 28

Once Jesus told me, Go to Mother Superior [probably Mother Raphael 18] and ask her to let you wear a hair shirt for seven days, and once each night you are to get up and come to the chapel. I said yes, but I found a certain difficulty in actually going to the Superior. In the evening Jesus asked me, How long will you put it off? I made up my mind to tell Mother Superior the very next time I would see her.

The next day before noon I saw Mother Superior going to the refectory and, since the kitchen, refectory and Sister Aloysia's little room are all close to each other, I asked Mother Superior to come into Sister Aloysia's room and told her of the wish of the Lord Jesus. At that, Mother answered, "I will not permit you to wear any hair shirt. Absolutely not! If the Lord Jesus were to give you the strength of a colossus, I would then permit those mortifications."

I apologized for taking up Mother's time and left the room. At that very moment I saw Jesus standing at the kitchen door, and I said to Him, "You commanded me to ask for these mortifications, but Mother Superior will not permit them." Jesus said, I was here during your conversation with the Superior and know everything. I don't demand mortification from you, but obedience. By obedience you give great glory to Me and gain merit for yourself. 

Jesus to St. Faustina on the Importance and Power of Obedience for Religious Souls..

Jesus told her “I was obedient to my parents, my executioners and now I am obedient to my priests”. St Faustina said the devil can imitate humility but not OBEDIENCE.


“By obedience you give great glory to Me and gain merit for yourself”. (28)

However, in all these sufferings and struggles, [Saint Faustina was undergoing intense spiritual trials] I was not omitting Holy Communion. When it seemed to me that I should not communicate, I went, before Holy Communion, to the Directress and told her that I could not approach the Sacrament, because it seemed to me that I should not do so. But she would not permit me to omit Holy Communion, so I went, and I understand now, that it was only obedience that saved me. The Directress told me later that my trials had passed quickly, “and this solely because you were obedient, Sister: and it was through the power of obedience that you struggled through this so bravely.” It is true that it was the Lord himself who brought me out of this torment, but my fidelity to obedience did please him. (105)

As I was talking to a certain person who was to paint the image but, for certain reasons, was not painting it, I heard this voice in my soul: “I want her to be more obedient”. I understood that our efforts, no matter how great, are not pleasing to God if they do not bear the seal of obedience; I am speaking about a religious soul. O God, how easy it is to know Your will in the convent! (354)

When I left the confessional and started to recite my penance, I heard these words. “I have granted the grace you asked for on behalf of that soul, but not because of the mortification you chose for yourself. Rather, it was because of your act of complete obedience to My representative that I granted this grace to that soul for whom you interceded and begged mercy. Know that when you mortify your own self-will, then Mine reigns within you.” (365)

“Yes.. when you are obedient I take away your weakness and replace it with My strength. I am very surprised that souls do not want to make that exchange with Me.” I said to the Lord, “Jesus, enlighten my heart, or else I, too, will not understand much from these words.” (381)

“My daughter, know that you give Me greater glory by a single act of obedience than by long prayers and mortifications.” (894)

I felt worse today, and I went to Mother Superior intending to ask her for permission to go to bed. However, before I could ask for permission, Mother Superior said to me, “Sister, you must somehow manage by yourself at the gate, because I am taking the girl to work at the cabbage, since there is no one else for the cabbage.” I said – good, and left the room. When I got to the gate, I felt unusually strong, and I was at my post all day and felt well. I experienced the power of holy obedience. (1378)

Diary of St. Faustina - On Obedience and Talkative Souls.......

1005 Let the glory and praise to The Divine Mercy rise from every creature throughout all ages and times.

1006 + O my Lord and God, You command me to write about the graces You grant me. O my Jesus, were it not for a clear command from my confessors,[178] that I am to write down what goes on in my soul, I would not, of my own choice, write a single word. And so, if I do write about myself, it is at the formal command of holy obedience.

1007 + Praise and glory be to You, O Holy Trinity, Eternal God. May the mercy springing from Your very bowels protect us from Your just anger. Let the praise of Your incomprehensible mercy resound everywhere. All Your works bear the seal of Your unfathomable mercy, O God.

1008 March 1, 1937. The Lord gave me to know how displeased He is with a talkative soul. I find no rest in such a soul. The constant din tires Me, and in the midst of it the soul cannot discern My voice.

Diary of St. Faustina on the Veneration of the Image in Churches...

"Tell the confessor that the Image is to be on view in the church and not within the enclosure in that convent. By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let every soul have access to it." (Diary, 570)

"I desire that this image be displayed in public on the first Sunday after Easter. That Sunday is the Feast of Mercy. Through the Word Incarnate I make known the bottomless depth of My mercy." (Diary, 88)

"On Good Friday, at three o'clock in the afternoon, when I entered the chapel, I heard these words: I desire that the image be publicly honored. Then I saw the Lord Jesus dying on the Cross amidst great suffering, and out of the Heart of Jesus came the same two rays as are in the image." (Diary, 414)

Reflection:  In many Churches around the world, we now see the Divine Mercy Image displayed.  If your Parish Church does not display the Image, perhaps you can ask your Parish Priest if he would like one and offer to donate one yourself or with the help of others.  Remember the words of Jesus and also remember to be obedient and gracious to the Parish Priest if he refuses.